Advisory Board Members
Holly Bray
After practicing law in Connecticut for nearly 40 years, Holly retired to New Mexico with her husband, Tad Witherington, in 2022. Her legal career in Connecticut included work in private practice as both a general practitioner and commercial litigator, and as an assistant attorney general. As an assistant attorney general, Holly investigated and prosecuted violations of the State’s charitable solicitation laws and the alleged misuse and theft of charitable funds and assets. She also represented state institutions of higher education, including the Connecticut State University System and the University of Connecticut. In that capacity, she advised administration officials on a variety of issues, drafted and reviewed contracts, and defended the institutions in negligence, discrimination, harassment, First Amendment, and breach of contract suits. While engaged in private practice, Holly also represented juveniles in judicial delinquency proceedings pursuant to a contract with the State of Connecticut and served on the board of directors of a not-for-profit organization located in Hartford, Connecticut, which provided after-school programs and counseling to abused and neglected at-risk youth.
Holly graduated from Connecticut College in 1978 with a B.A. in English. After graduation she earned her teaching certification at Southern Connecticut State University and taught severely emotionally disturbed children at a private residential school in Connecticut. After several years she left teaching and attended the University of Connecticut School of Law. Holly graduated with a juris doctorate in 1985.
Isaac Dakota Casados
Founder of Isaac Dakota Productions, Isaac produces various mini-documentaries, public service announcements, and video content for a wide range of clients, including The State of New Mexico, Grammy-nominated musicians, corporate, politicians, non-profits and entities large and small.
To date, the firm’s videos have generated millions of views online and have been featured in local and national news segments, publications, and newspapers, blogs and magazines, and retweeted by countless entertainers. He has produced multiple media campaigns for the US Census, Unidos US, NM.gov, Advancing New Mexico, and numerous other state and federal agencies.
Dr. Steve Cox
Steve served as the president of the Board of Directors of Moving Arts Espanola for over 5 years. His main interests are identifying and addressing the root causes of poor academic performance among students from groups that are poorly represented in STEM majors and careers.
He received BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from Marquette University and a PhD in Mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He then did postdoctoral work at the Courant Institute at New York University before joining the department of Computational & Applied Mathematics at Rice University. During his 28 years at Rice he held visiting positions in Spain, France and Germany, received 6 campus-wide teaching awards, served as Residential College Master for 10 years, was the founding Director of the Rice Center for Teaching Excellence. In addition, he was an Adjunct Professor of Neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine and co-founded the Rice Neuroscience program. He is now Assistant Professor of Engineering Technology at Northern New Mexico College, Director of an NSF INCLUDES Pilot; The Northern New Mexico STEM Mentor Collective.
Joti Rodar
Joti Rodar was born and raised in the Espanola Valley. As a youth, she participated in recreational and competitive gymnastics programs, where she met Roger Montoya, one of her coaches. She went on to use her skills as a gymnast to coach recreational and competitive programs. Her love for theater started in her childhood at the Santa Fe Opera as a patron and a volunteer in the props department, which was one inspiration that ultimately led to her majoring in Theater Arts at UC Santa Cruz. She went on to work in the Los Angeles area as a lead scenic artist in the themed entertainment industry, where she was part of design/build teams that implemented projects for theme parks and other destination attractions that included Universal Studios Hollywood and Japan, Disneyland, SeaWorld San Diego, and Busch Gardens in Virginia, Port Discovery Children’s Museum in Baltimore, film/TV, and more.
She received her Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy in 2018 at Kean University in New Jersey and has been working as an occupational therapist, helping people improve their function and participation in the activities most important to them with both pediatric and adult populations. She is a self-taught crafter who enjoys drawing and painting, making jewelry, sewing, and mosaics and creating therapy tools in her therapy sessions. She joined the board of Moving Arts in the advisory capacity in 2024 after being a longtime fan and supporter of the program.
Robin Rodar
Robin Rodar is a retired New Mexico educator with 25 years’ experience in teaching, library education management, and Bureau of Indian Affairs leadership. She currently volunteers at Moving Arts Espanola as an advisory board member and is also the secretary of Cuatro Villas Municipal Water Users Association. She plays an active role in the Mesa Prieta Petroglyph Project, the New Deal Preservation Association, and the San Gabriel Historical Society of Espanola.